I think you are absolutely on the right track, but like the USDA of the past, you still serve too many masters. You are in charge of food production - your mission is to make it easier for farmers to make money - yet you are also tasked with food consumption and telling Americans what a healthy diet is. Therein lies the conflict that has always plagued the USDA.

I think about George McGovern, who as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs authorized the 1980s Food Pyramid on an unproven theory that there was less heart disease during World War II because meat and milk were rationed. During that time sugar was also rationed, we grew and ate from Victory Gardens, and people walked more due to gas rationing. Yet, cardiologists of the time fingered meat and milk as the dietary bad guys. While the objective of the 1980s guidelines was to help people eat fewer of the foods that lead to "the degenerative diseases of middle age," the committee relied on what was then criticized as bad research, and caved to the meat lobby and other corporate interests, resulting in a carbohydrate-heavy and low-nutrient set of dietary guidelines. It was a license to eat all the pasta and bread we wanted.

I think about Earl Butz who wanted the U.S. to be "breadbasket to the world," telling farmers to "get big or get out" and advising them to plant fencerow to fencerow. He was proud of reducing the percent of disposable income we have to pay for food from 23% in the fifties to 10% today. However, this is almost a zero sum game, as the amount we now spend on healthcare cancels out any savings on food.

In the 1980s, Americans made an historic shift in our eating habits. We ate the newly inexpensive and inflammation-inducing diet of vegetable oils and white carbohydrates. We didn't understand that the Great White Carbs like white flour, white rice, and potatoes are all metabolized as fast as table sugar, turning into blood glucose at the same rate. We actually thought these foods were good for us since they were fat-free, but they were giving us diabetes. Inflammation damaged our arteries, so they repaired themselves with plaque made from cholesterol. We demonized cholesterol thinking it was a causal factor when it was just the Band-Aid our body was producing to protect our arteries. We thought fat made us fat, but became overweight and obese eating the carbs. And, most egregiously, the Great White Carbs robbed us of nutrition making our bodies simultaneously stuffed and starved.

Like McGovern and Butz, you have the chance to be one of the big names in American nutrition history, but you'll have to favor American health over corporate interests, something the USDA has never done. Maybe now that more than half of Americans suffer from chronic illness and now that we spend 16% of national income on healthcare (compared to 5% before the Dietary Guidelines were introduced), the USDA will recognize that we have more at stake than ever.

Michael Pollan stated "the surgeon general should take over from the Department of Agriculture the job of communicating with Americans about their diet." Would this be a relief to you or is your department truly up to the task of undoing what the USDA has done to American health?

You certainly have your work cut out for you and I appreciate your efforts to fix this situation. Thank you for involving me and the mom bloggers in the discussion. We hope our comments are helpful.

6 comments:

Awesome post, sorry I missed the call. I will probably try to get a post on my blog soon. The food is so awful at our school, and the government has no excuse to keep pushing the old food standards. I was seen as so weird growing up with my whole grain bread and compost heap, not to mention carob chips :) but at least way more people are eating like that now,

Michael Pollan stated "the surgeon general should take over from the Department of Agriculture the job of communicating with Americans about their diet." Would this be a relief to you or is your department truly up to the task of undoing what the USDA has done to American health?

This latest meta-analysis of studies on saturated fat shows there is no connection between intake and heart disease or stroke.http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/02/25/saturated-fat-is-not-the-cause-of-heart-disease.aspx

I expected David Wolfe's Longevity Now Conference to deliver some tips for how to live better and longer. I attended the conference no...

Blog Archive

I write for Technorati

Amazon sells gluten-free groceries! Search term: "gluten"

Medical Disclaimer

The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this web site is for general information purposes only. I make no representation and assume no responsibility for the accuracy of information contained on or available through this web site, and such information is subject to change without notice. You should confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEB SITE.

I do not recommend, endorse or make any representation about the efficacy, appropriateness or suitability of any specific tests, products, procedures, treatments, services, opinions, health care providers or other information that may be contained on or available through this web site. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE NOR LIABLE FOR ANY ADVICE, COURSE OF TREATMENT, DIAGNOSIS OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION, SERVICES OR PRODUCTS THAT YOU OBTAIN THROUGH THIS WEB SITE.

By continuing to view this site, you indicate acceptance of these terms. Visitors who do not accept these terms should not access, use, interact with or view these web pages.

Copyright

All information and content on this web site are protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. Users are prohibited from modifying, copying, distributing, transmitting, displaying, publishing, selling, licensing, creating derivative works, or using any information available on or through the site for commercial or public purposes.